The Crumbling Beauty of Bantry House & Garden

No matter the time of year, freshly cut flowers will always bring a sense of joy and natural beauty into any room. Fresh bouquets in water — whether grown ourselves or gifted — are normally at their best for a couple of weeks, but blooms will be fleeting and are usually thrown away once they start to lose their colour and wilt. So, a question that I’m asked a lot is simply — ‘How can I make my flowers last longer?’ The answer lies in the art of drying flowers — a craft that I’ve been immersed in for the past seven years. Dried floral arrangements will bring a different aesthetic to interiors compared to fresh — they are not for everyone — but if you like the look, you can very easily prolong the beauty of your flowers by months — even years — by creating striking arrangements that celebrate floral structures and will add interest to mantelpieces, dining tables, sideboards — you name it — throughout the seasons.

With so many different plants to choose from, how on earth are you supposed to determine which green friends are best for your space (or a client’s)? That’s where the pros come in to help out. We’ve called on a series of experts to weigh in with their top picks for underrated yet totally fantastic houseplants that deserve a little extra love. In addition to looking chic, plants offer plenty of health- and wellness-related benefits—from air purification to encouraging lower levels of stress and anxiety. You certainly don’t have to feel guilty about stocking up on several, whether you choose to do so at your local nursery or hardware store or via online resources including The Sill, Bloomscape, and more. Read on for our list of the most underrated houseplants, according to designers, professional green thumbs, and more.

Iris ‘Benton Olive’ in Sarah Price's garden

Plants have as much power as a piece of art, beautiful fabric, or favourite antique to make a room sing, but decorating with them requires just as much consideration as anything else. We chatted with an interior designer, landscape architect, floral designer, and well-known tastemaker about design strategies to implement when bringing plants into the home. Plus, our experts have shared a few favourite houseplants to help you get started—as well as their top sources for impeccable faux options if you’re wary of the added responsibility.

10 stems of foliage cut from your garden, foraged or purchased from your local florist

Harry's Chelsea garden, The School Food Matters Garden

A garden with a restrained planting palette can be so exciting and atmospheric. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of the white garden. The limitations of choosing plants of a single colour means you can focus your attention; in fact there are so many plants out there that if you don’t have some sort of guiding principles when you set about designing your garden, you will soon be lost and overwhelmed with options.

Ina Garten at her East Hampton home.

The gardens at Great Dixter.

In the well-to-do town of Bedford, New York, there are a few givens: there are apple orchards and quaint bed and breakfasts, cute bakeries and amazing antiques shops and, of course, many grand estates complete with rolling green lawns and well-hedged gardens. Perhaps most impressive of the latter belongs to the doyenne of the domestic, Martha Stewart.

Foundation plantings often are overlooked and underappreciated, but they don’t have to be utilitarian and boring. The right foundation plants can add instant curb appeal by providing color, texture and structure. A combination of evergreens and deciduous plants including small shrubs,perennials, andgroundcovers, keeps your foundation planting bed interesting.

Woodland gardens have a unique charm that transports us to a world of tranquility and natural beauty.